East of Middlebury, there are often more buggies and bicycles than cars. It is here that Allen and Arlene Bontreger raise grass fed turkeys and chickens as well as Ladyfinger popcorn, a heritage variety that has been around for generations. The Bontregers are an Amish farm couple who eschew electricity, cars and other modern conveniences and instead build their life...

The Twigs and Sprigs Tea Room at the Stream Cliff Herb Farm, a historic 1821 homestead, in Comiskey, Indiana, is just part of the charm of this sixth generation family farmstead with its extensive gardens,winery and historic buildings. The gardens are laid out in quilt blocks and there are shops selling homemade traditional crafts and garden related items as well...

The John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail meanders across covered bridges, past centuries old buildings and circles old courthouses. Some of the stops are now just fields, others old building and bridges still standing after all these years. It takes a good map to wander the trail that, though it is marked, winds back and forth on a series of country...

Tucked away in the rolling hills of Dubois county in Southern Indiana, Jasper, a small German town located on the winding Patoka River, remains true to its ethnic roots. Even now, more than 150 years after Bavarian and German immigrants, draw to this pastoral area because its dense woods reminded them of their homeland, a large majority of Jasper’s population...

Explore Blue Spring Caverns, Williams Covered Bridge, the Pioneer Village and Twin Caves in Spring Mill State Park, Mitchell–the hometown of Astronaut Gus Grissom, attend the Persimmon Festival in the fall, one of the state’s oldest festivals, and so much more in beautiful Lawrence County. Take a canoe or kayak trip down the White River (rentals available through Most High Adventure...

A tiny town on the Ohio River with several must stops. The Overlook Restaurant sits perched high above the Ohio River with an astounding view and wonderful down home cooking such as biscuits, mashed potatoes and fried chicken. Or relax and enjoy a drink and a view at Walter’s Bar, downstairs below the restaurant. Also be sure to check the Overlook Dock,...

Madison, an early 19th century river port city on the Ohio whose historic Georgetown section, located north of Main Street, is the only designated National Underground Railroad District in the country. In the mid 1800s, Madison was one of the largest cities in the state with the largest number of free African Americans as well. Many resided in a Madison...

In times past, travelers made their way along the Whitewater Canal on horse pulled barges. It was, in the mid 1800s, a way for merchants and farmers to transport their products to market and for others to journey to the small towns and villages that dotted the Indiana landscape. The Whitewater Canal, which, started in 1836 and finished ten years...

Honoring the bounty of the earth is one of the traditions of Mitchell, a small town located amidst the winding roads and rolling hills of southern Indiana. It’s here in the fall that the orchards are filled with trees bearing bright orange colored persimmons. And every year, the fruit that has put Mitchell on the map, drawing almost 40,000 people...

More than three decades ago, LaVern Pletcher, a second-generation Nappanee furniture storeowner, had a chance to achieve his dream. Pletcher, who had traveler to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for inspiration, had always harbored an idea of preserving an Amish farm and making it available to visitors. So, when the 80-acre Manasses Kuhns farm was up for sale by public auction in October...

For those looking at the elegant façade of the Beaux Arts mansion, Ruthmere, it would seem that time has not passed in the 95 years since the house was built. The three story home, made with Belden bricks from Ohio and Indiana limestone, its windows accented by gaily striped awnings, its elaborate entranceway flanked with brick pillars and topped with...

The second night of the raid, Morgan’s Raiders camped out in a field 16 miles south of Salem, the hardest hit of all the towns during Morgan’s travels through Indiana. Downtown Salem today is a pretty place. The Washington County Courthouse, a combination of Gothic and Classical styles, is immense, dominating the small downtown with its 19th and 20th century...

In Shipshewana, one of the main stops in Northern Indiana’s Amish Country, carriages pulled by horses take visitors through the heart of this small farming community starting at the Blue Gate Restaurant. Travel the country roads and then return to the restaurant which offers traditional Amish fair like fried chicken, mashed potatoes and homemade noodles. Don’t forget to try one...

Our favorite spot in the 1300-acre Spring Mill State Park with its caves, riding trails, inn and woods, is their fascinating Pioneer Village, a pioneer settlement featuring 20 historic buildings including an old distillery, tavern and 3-story limestone gristmill, built in 1817, that continues to grind cornmeal today.   Restored in the mid 1930s, Pioneer Village introduces visitors to early settler...

A tiny historic hamlet, Vernon, founded in 1815, sits on the banks of the Muscatatuck River. On July 11, when John Hunt Morgan demanded the surrender of Vernon. Colonel Hugh T. Williams, Indiana Legion, replied that Morgan “must take it by hard fighting.” No major battle occurred and Morgan‘s cavalry withdrew toward Dupont, Jefferson County where legend has it that a...

Wakarusa is a sweet little town. Each April the tiny hamlet, located in Northwest Indiana’s Amish area, hosts the annual Wakarusa Maple Syrup Festival and among the celebration’s many attractions are the Jumbo Jelly Beans sold at the Wakarusa Dime Store, a retail fixture in the downtown since Moses Wolfberg opened a retail store in that building in 1907. Last...

There was a time when West Baden Springs Hotel was called the Eighth Wonder of the World and it is easy to see why. At the beginning of the 1900s, the elite hotel was a Mecca for gamblers coming to Orange County for fun and glamour. According to the Indiana Historical Society, a stay at West Baden Springs Hotel in...